Award route card · one-way
The other tech shuttle, and the cheapest fixed business seat on any metro trunk: 19,000 Maharaja points after the April-2026 10% trim, against 20,000 for Delhi–Mumbai and 25,000 for Delhi–Bengaluru. Economy held at 4,000 — ₹3,200 at house value on a route where cash fares run ₹3–6k, so the award only clears when fares spike. IndiGo, Akasa and Air India Express pile frequency onto the corridor; none of them wears a chart. The honest verdict for a 105-minute hop: pay cash in economy, and if you must burn points, the 12,500-Aeroplan business seat is the only redemption here that beats its own cash fare with any regularity.
The play · business
Feed it: 6,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 12,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 31,250 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
| Program | Metal / routing | Points | Surcharge | All-in ₹ | vs play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Air India nonstop (Star Alliance partner award) | 12,500 | — | ₹12,500 | the play |
| Air India Maharaja Points | Air India nonstop (Star Alliance), Value tier | 19,000 | — | ₹15,200 | 1.2× |
The play · economy
Feed it: 4,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 2,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 4,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
| Program | Metal / routing | Points | Surcharge | All-in ₹ | vs play |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air India Maharaja Points | Air India nonstop (Star Alliance), Value tier | 4,000 | — | ₹3,200 | the play |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Air India nonstop (Star Alliance partner award) | 7,500 | — | ₹7,500 | 2.3× |
| IndiGo BluChip | IndiGo nonstop — BluChip, dynamic (revenue-priced) | dynamic | — | — | — |
All-in ₹ = points × the program's house value (valuation index) + the sourced one-way surcharge; a dash means the carrier doesn't publish it and the ranking counts it ₹0 — the row's note carries the caveat. “Dynamic” rows never compete for the play. Feed-ins come from the same transfer data as the optimizer, multi-hop chains included.
12,500 in the 0–1,000-mile band undercuts Maharaja's own 19,000 for the identical business recliner — fixed, surcharge-free, chain-funded HDFC 2:1 / Bonvoy 3:1. The one points play on the corridor that regularly beats its cash fare.
Feed it: 6,250 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 12,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 31,250 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
Trimmed 10% in April 2026 (21,000 → 19,000) — the cheapest route-level business award on any Indian metro trunk. Still ₹15,200 of points for 105 minutes in a recliner; the Aeroplan row underneath does the same seat for a third fewer points.
Feed it: 19,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 9,500 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 19,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
Held at 4,000 through the April-2026 overhaul (the chart's domestic floor fell to 1,500 — Bengaluru–Chennai). ₹3,200 at house value against ₹3–6k cash fares; a fair award only when the Friday-evening shuttle premium kicks in. Taxes unpublished.
Feed it: 4,000 IndusInd Reward Points (1:1) · 2,000 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 4,000 ICICI Reward Points (1:1)
518 miles is deep in the 0–1,000-mile Within-Atlantic band — 7,500 points, surcharge-free, nearly double Maharaja's 4,000 for the same seat. Chart completeness; never fund this with Aeroplan.
Feed it: 3,750 Axis EDGE Miles (1:2) · 7,500 SBI Travel Credits (1:1) · 18,750 Axis EDGE Reward Points (5:2)
IndiGo owns the corridor's frequency, but BluChip has no award chart — redemptions track the live fare at a dynamic ₹0.40–0.60 per BluChip, minimum 500, taxes cash-only. On a shuttle route priced by the hour of the day, that's just the expensive ticket wearing points.
Ways in: HSBC Reward Points 1.5:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL) · Axis EDGE Reward Points 5:1 · HDFC Reward Points 3:1 via Accor Live Limitless (ALL)